


Adrien in Wonderland

by arielf17



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alice In Wonderland AU, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Comatose Emilie Agreste, F/M, Family Issues, Fluff and Humor, Gen, I want to pretend like I have this all planned out but no one will believe that, but yeah it's an alice in wonderland au it'll be fun, maybe like a smidgeon of angst please don't hurt me, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27404140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arielf17/pseuds/arielf17
Summary: Adrien Agreste, tired and lonely, goes for a walk in the rain. With the help of a little black kitten and a mischievous voice, Adrien falls into a fantastical world inhabited by tiny animals, crazed milliners, and teenaged samurai. These strange people and things teach him about life, love, friendship, and all the other things he can't seem to find in the real world.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jessica Keynes & Liiri, Jessica Keynes & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alix Kubdel
Comments: 11
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Adrien in Wonderland! I will not tease you with the false pretense of an update schedule, that would be mean. AU idea from the wonderful aerequets on tumblr, written with permission. 
> 
> original post: https://aerequets.tumblr.com/post/631205687923507205/i-havent-colored-this-yet-but-like-listen-adrien 
> 
> Note: I have not read Alice in Wonderland since I was a wee babby nerd. I'm playing it fast and loose, as always. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien goes for a walk in the rain. That's never led to anything weird, right?

Everything was a fight. Adrien didn’t want it to be, but it was. And it was a fight to be fought all alone, because he had no opponent. Adrien had tried to be gentle and patient with his father, even though it was Gabriel’s job to be gentle and patient with Adrien. It was a long time before Adrien realized that. 

Adrien fought alone. Gabriel didn’t give him the time of day to argue with, or to spend time with. But Adrien didn’t want to fight. His mom had been fighting for ages, she had to be so tired. Adrien wanted to tell his father to let her go, tell Nathalie, tell someone, but there was no one. He’d whispered it once, to his mother, when no one else was around. 

_ I’m so sorry, Maman. I know you’re tired and that you want to let go. I’m sorry that we’re keeping you here.  _

He slapped his cheeks gently, just enough to wake himself up a little bit. It was pouring rain, nothing that an umbrella couldn’t fix. If anyone saw him leave the mansion, they didn’t comment on it. Sneaking out was a double edged sword. It gave Adrien the clarity and freedom that he needed. Freedom was great. Clarity was...uncomfortable. 

Adrien had always loved the smell of rain. Clean in a sort of natural way, not the same way his house was clean, bleached and artificial. Clear water pitter pattered against Adrien’s umbrella. He walked around the city, staring down places that he wanted to belong to, somehow. 

He wanted to buy a croissant at T&S. He caught a glimpse of the couple that owned the place when he passed by the window sometimes. The wife was petite but fierce, often carrying ingredients around the kitchen with ease. The husband laughed with his belly and always seemed to be smiling. Adrien wondered if they had any kids his age. 

He wanted to sit in the park across the street and people watch. He wanted to see the kids playing with their parents or siblings or babysitters, filled with laughter and made-up games, because that was what things were supposed to be like. Even before his mother had gotten sick, Adrien couldn’t remember ever truly being like that. 

Most of all, Adrien wanted to go to school. He knew that was silly to think, he didn’t have to go to school. Even if some kids dreamt of the life Adrien had, it was lonely, and he wanted friends. But he didn’t know how to make friends, and even if he did, it was only a matter of time before he got caught. A jaunt into the rain filled with fantasy was all well and good, but it was time for Adrien to go back to reality. 

“Reality’s for suckers, blondie.” 

Adrien looked around. He could’ve sworn he heard a voice. He couldn’t see anyone, no one who could’ve spoken, not a single human person. 

“Who’s there?” asked Adrien. 

A small black kitten leapt out of a bush and into Adrien’s path. The poor little kitty was soaking wet, even after hiding out in the bush for God knows how long. Adrien knelt down and held out his hand to the kitten. The little rascal scampered up Adrien’s arm and curled around his neck. 

“I’d better get you someplace warm, little one,” chuckled Adrien. 

“No time for that. Hold on tight, kid, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” 

Technicolor swirls danced in Adrien’s field of vision. The last thought he had before losing consciousness was that he was clearly insane, accompanied by a mischievous chuckle, which was nowhere and everywhere all at once. 

♡♢♤♧

Impossibly, Adrien came to in a drawing room. The room was well lit even though he couldn’t find a source of light. The coffee table housed a few dishes and there was a large white grand piano in the center of the room. Adrien sat up slowly, his entire body felt like it had just been wrung out like a towel. His bones clicked as he made his way to his feet. He looked around for the black cat or the disembodied voice, but there was no sign of it. 

“Curiouser and curiouser,” mumbled Adrien, although he wasn’t sure why. 

There was a chaise near the coffee table. Adrien lied down there, wondering what the chances were that he had caught hypothermia and was having a fever dream, waiting for his father to notice that he was ill and provide the best medical treatment money could buy, pretending like that was enough. 

Adrien pinched his arm and felt the pain. He felt sore. Maybe it wasn’t hypothermia. Maybe he’d gotten sick like his mom, gotten so tired he’d collapsed, fallen into a coma, concocted something peaceful to calm himself until he could finally-

“Whoa, that was quite a spill you took there, mister!” 

A small white rabbit floated in front of Adrien. He might’ve been surprised if he hadn’t already been having the weirdest day. 

“Spill? Did I fall? Do you know how I got here?”

The rabbit harrumphed. 

“Drat. He must’ve really put you through the wringer. Well, I’m sure you’ll adjust. But I have to get going. I’m either extremely late or a little early.” 

The rabbit disappeared in a puff of pale blue smoke. There was something Adrien was trying to remember, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

“Whatever it is, it can’t be as important as figuring out how to get out of here.” 

His eyes drifted over to the coffee table and landed on a small, delicate tea cup. A little card sat next to it that read “drink me.” Adrien definitely wasn’t about to fall for that. He wasn’t, until he heard that little trickster’s voice in his head, issuing a maddening chant. 

“Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” 

“If I drink the tea, will you shut up?” 

“Finally! A reaction! Boy, are you dead inside.” 

_ You have no idea,  _ Adrien passively thought. 

“I just wanna go home.”

“Pfft. No you don’t. You don’t have a home. You have a house. There’s a difference.” 

“Not to me there isn’t,” sighed Adrien. 

“You’re breaking my heart, kid. Just drink the tea, turn around, and start walking. I’ll tell you my name if you can find me.” 

Figuring he had nothing to lose, Adrien lifted the cup to his lips and took a cautious sip. The change took effect so immediately, Adrien barely had time to set the cup back down. His body was rapidly shrinking. He was thankful for his clothes shrinking with him, but the changing surroundings made his head hurt. 

Adrien carefully pivoted so that he was facing the opposite direction. It was dark underneath the chaise, and no way was he checking first hand to see if he had to do battle with dust bunnies and bugs. He carefully stalked around the edge of the chaise, until he came face to face with a door. He never would’ve seen the door if he hadn’t collapsed in on himself like a telescope. 

“Thanks, mysterious voice. Looks like I’m getting out of here after all.” 

The voice didn’t answer. Adrien guessed that it had given its last hint, and he was on his own until he met someone else who could help. He gripped the cold metal doorknob and twisted it. The door opened without protest, but the corridor inside was pitch black. 

Adrien shuffled through complete darkness, hands on the wall, trying not to think about why he was so afraid of the dark. He tried not to think about thunderstorms and upsetting phone calls and things that go bump in the night. Still, lightning bolts danced on the walls, a phone rang in the distance, and Adrien smelled something bitter burning. He walked right into a wall. 

“Ow,” he mumbled, holding his sore nose, “I guess this is the exit. Why am I narrating?” 

The wood of the door was warm against his palms. He fumbled his way towards the doorknob, and stepped out of the pitch black corridor into a blinding golden light. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien comes face to face with a fearsome warrior and the mischievous voice. These two events are mostly unrelated.

“I was expecting this to be bigger.” 

Adrien sat up. The grass he was sitting on felt damp. He had been lying in a clearing encircled with cherry trees. The person who spoke stood above him, a girl samurai appearing about his age, hair cut just above her shoulders. She held a single vial filled with a clean liquid. 

“Who are you?” asked Adrien. 

“How is it that you’ve only cried this much, Adrien Agreste?” 

Adrien scrambled to his feet and snatched the vial from the samurai’s hands. 

“That’s what that is? That can’t be right, I know I’ve cried more.” 

The samurai took the vial from Adrien and tucked it into her red gi top. 

“Have you? Or do you just feel like you should have?” 

As soon as it was brought up, Adrien realized that he hadn’t remembered crying all that much. He was always trying to stay strong for his parents, especially his mother. He hadn’t noticed that he had been holding so much in. 

“Do you see the dew drops on these blades of grass?” asked the samurai. 

Adrien nodded. 

“These are all the tears that you wanted to cry, but didn’t.”

Every blade of grass housed a dew drop. First Adrien thought there was too little, then he thought there was too much. 

“Seems like a waste,” he sighed. 

“You would think that, wouldn’t you? When you get a chance, have a long and hard cry. It’ll make you feel better.” 

“I’ll think about it.”

The samurai drew her katana and pointed it directly at Adrien. 

“You’ll do it. Do it for yourself. No one else is going to do it for you.” 

“You’re very scary, you know that?” 

She narrowed her brown eyes as she tucked her sword back into her black hakama. 

“Yes. I do. Now get moving. You have more lessons to learn.”

A chasm opened up in the dew-covered meadow and swallowed the samurai whole. 

“She did say to get moving,” Adrien thought out loud, “so I guess I should just start walking.” 

The dew drops didn’t fall as Adrien marched through the meadow and past the cherry blossoms. The hole that swallowed the samurai was nowhere to be seen. Adrien kept walking. The area was still wooded, becoming thicker and thicker as he kept walking. 

Dragging his hands along the bark, Adrien looked down at his feet. The grass had gotten drier and darker. Gradually, the trees began to thin again. Adrien looked up and found himself in another clearing. It wasn’t perfectly circular like the samurai’s, but oblong and haphazard. There was a single tree directly behind a signpost for two paths, one called “this way” and one called “that way.” 

A black cat lounged in the tree, and Adrien put two and two together. 

“Oh, I get it now. The little black cat and the mischievous voice are the same thing.” 

“I don’t appreciate being called a thing,” cooed the cat, even grinning wildly. 

The cat’s body faded away leaving only the smile in its place. Adrien crossed his arms. 

“I’ve heard of a cat without a smile, but a smile without a cat is something else altogether.” 

A flurry of emerald green rushed towards Adrien. The cat wrapped himself around Adrien’s shoulders like a stole. 

“You found me, kid, and fair’s fair. My name’s Plagg.

“I’m Adrien. It’s nice to officially meet you. Now, should I go this way, or that way?” 

Plagg carefully scrutinized the signpost. 

“I suppose it all depends on where you want to go.” 

Adrien sighed. He should’ve guessed that Plagg’s answer was going to be something silly like that. 

“How do I get back home?”

“That’s not what I asked, kid. Where do you wanna be?” 

Contrary to popular belief, Adrien did want things. He did. He wanted his mother to either get better or move on, whichever she was more comfortable with, he wanted his father to spend time with him, he wanted friends, he wanted a real life. But none of those things were going to happen, so he might as well not have wanted anything.

He wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere where all that stuff didn’t matter, and in a way, he was. But reminders of the real world were still everywhere, and Adrien wanted to escape that entirely. To be someone absolutely and completely different. 

It wasn’t a question of where Adrien wanted to be. It was a question of who he wanted to be. 

“You can say I don’t know,” said Plagg, “in fact, you probably should. If you say I don’t know, then it doesn’t really matter if you go this way or that way.” 

“It’s not that I don’t know. You asked the wrong question.” 

“Then what’s the right question?” 

Adrien wasn’t prepared for Plagg actually giving a damn about what the right question was. No one ever seemed to care what the right question was. Adrien couldn’t remember the last time he was asked a question to which the answer wasn’t yes sir, no sir, or three bags full sir. 

“Well, that I don’t know. But I know the answer.” 

“Spill it blondie! It’s rude to keep a cat waiting.” 

“I don’t care where I am, as long as I have a friend there. But I don’t have any friends, wouldn’t even know how to go around making some. So I guess it doesn’t matter if I go this way or that way after all.” 

“No! That helps! If you want to make friends, then that way is the way to go. But you’ll have to hurry. It’s almost tea time.” 

Adrien hurried down the right hand fork in the road labeled “that way.” 

“I guess I kind of assumed that this place wouldn’t follow rules of linear time,” Adiren said. 

“What makes you say that?” 

“You’re a talking cat. Plagg.” 

“Fair enough. You’re right, time doesn’t work the same way here. But she’s perpetually non-punctual, so it’s always almost tea time when you’re walking on that way so that she can prepare the tea on time.” 

“She? Plagg, who are you taking me to meet?”

Plagg scampered up Adrien’s head and curled up in his hair, purring as he gave his trademark explanation, vague and unhelpful. 

“Why, the Mad Hatter of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want you to know that these chapters feel adequately long when I'm writing them because I write in 12pt double spaced times new roman like a nerd.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien meets the Mad Hatter and makes plans.

Adrien smelled passionfruit. Everything so far had been to do with things he hadn’t been doing correctly. He was too scared, he didn’t let himself feel, he was indecisive. But he was on his way to the Mad Hatter, and he smelled passionfruit, one of his favorite tastes. 

“She’s got this uncanny way of telling what your favorite flavor is,” explained Plagg. 

“Everything about this place is uncanny.” 

“Yeah, but Hatter is especially weird. You’ll see. We’re almost there.” 

A shimmering silver door appeared a little further down the path. It wasn’t a door so much as it was a vaguely door-shaped light. Adrien wasn’t sure how he could smell passionfruit through the door, but he could. Curiouser and curiouser. 

“Just walk through,” said Plagg. 

Adrien stepped through the door with his eyes closed. He thought he’d seen crazy things. The little white rabbit, the magic tea, the dark fearful hallway, the vial of tears in the dewy meadow, the samurai, Plagg, it was all so inherently strange that he thought there was no way it could get any stranger. 

He opened his eyes. He was in another clearing, with jagged edges and birch trees. Two rainbow painted picnic benches housed fancy tea sets and plates of baked goods. There was a girl with pink hair sitting on one of the tables, feeding a pink macaron to a tiny flying mouse. Ten or fifteen feet behind her, there was a massive outdoor workshop. Dress forms and fabric, a variety of goofy looking machines, giant spools of thread, in a thousand different colors, shrouding half of the workshop by their very existence. 

“Wow,” sighed Adrien. 

The pink haired girl whipped her head towards him. The tiny flying mouse perched on her shoulder. 

“Looks like we’ve got a guest, Mullo. Who are you?”

“I’m Adrien. I’m looking for the Mad Hatter.” 

Inconceivably, there was an explosion from within the workshop. 

“I’VE DONE IT, MARCH! THIS TIME I’VE ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY DONE IT!” 

“This is your last chance to back out,” said Plagg, “once she’s seen you, all bets are off.” 

“Well, now I have to meet her.” 

A flurry of colors rushed out of the workshop. Adrien couldn’t quite focus in on her because she never stopped moving. He managed to catch that she was wearing a hat with a polka-dotted ribbon and a feather, had some kind of bow tied around the collar of her shirt, and had her black hair tied back in pigtails. 

“I know what you’re thinking, what you’re thinking is why am I trying so hard, but the truth is I’m always trying this hard, and you should know that by now. But I think I’m trying extra hard because there’s an actual purpose today, as opposed to the other days, where I’m just needling to have something to do, like how a musician or a pasta chef might noodle to have something to do, was that wordplay? I can never tell, I can’t tell time. Is it still always almost tea time, because I could really go for some tea.” 

The Mad Hatter pranced around the pink haired girl, waving some pale blue fabric. Adrien wasn’t sure how the hat was staying on her head. He also wasn’t sure if the Hatter’s frolicking had the grace of a dancer or the pure unbridled chaos of a double jointed puppy. All of a sudden, the pale blue fabric was around his neck and the Mad Hatter had stopped moving. 

She had been intriguing from afar while she was busy, but up close and still she was unearthly. Her wide eyes were bright blue, sparkling with either inspiration or insanity, probably both. Boasting a wide smile and freckled nose, the Mad Hatter started chattering again. 

“Boy, your eyes sure are green, aren’t they? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with eyes as green as yours, except for maybe Plagg. Did he do that thing where he sits in that tree and only shows you his teeth? Of course he did, he always does that. I know that you’re here but I don’t know why you’re here or how you’re here, come to think of it, I don’t know how I’m here either.” 

The Mad Hatter deftly tied what Adrien then recognized as a pale blue scarf. Adrien was starting to get worried. He didn’t think the Mad Hatter had taken a breath since she’d emerged from the workshop. 

“I made this scarf specifically for you. I knew what you’d look like before you got here somehow, but you’re handsomer in person. Did I really just say that? Whoops. Plagg’s outta the bag. You probably hear that all the time, since you’re ‘don’t even have to try’ pretty. I bet you’ve always been pretty, too. Were you a cute baby? Of course you were a cute baby. I don’t think there’s such a thing as an ugly baby.” 

Adrien had to find a way to get the poor girl to stop talking. She was going to pass out. 

“I’m sure there have been ugly babies, but I don’t think we’d know about them, because who’s gonna flat out tell someone their baby is ugly-” 

“What smells like passionfruit?” asked Adrien. 

“Oh, I made macarons. Passionfruit macarons. They’re your favorite, right?” 

“Yeah.”

“Come sit down. March and Mullo made tea. I’ll explain everything. As much as I can, anyway.” 

March poured three cups of tea while Mullo nibbled on a sugar cube. 

“So. Besides Plagg, who have you met so far?” asked March. 

“There was a little white rabbit in the drawing room when I woke up. Then, there was a samurai when I went into the meadow.” 

“Poor Fluff,” said March, “and Ryuko must’ve given you the full run around. I bet you’ve cried a whole lot.”

“Not nearly enough, apparently,” sighed Adrien. 

“But your life is so sad!” chirped Mullo. 

The Mad Hatter put the cover over the dish of sugar cubes, trapping Mullo inside. Mullo phased through the lid and huffed. 

“It’s okay, Mad Hatter,” said Adrien, “I guess my life is pretty sad. My mom is in a coma, my dad never talks to me, and I don’t have any friends.” 

“Well, we can fix that,” said March. 

“Absotively. We’ll just need to head down to the beach. It’s the best place to make new friends,” explained the Mad Hatter. 

“This place has a beach? I thought it was all forests and meadows with the occasional manor house.” 

“Of course this place has a beach!” cried Mullo. 

“We just need to fly there. Hold on, I’ll make the call,” said the Mad Hatter. 

She reached under the picnic table and pulled a record player out of seemingly nowhere. As if the whole situation wasn’t weird enough, the Mad Hatter removed her hat and reached inside, her arm disappearing up to the elbow. She removed a record and placed it on the turntable. 

“How is any of this relevant to the current situation?” asked Adrien. 

“Relevancy’s for suckers, blondie,” giggled Plagg. 

The song started to play, a soft slow song played on the acoustic guitar. There was a part of Adrien that thought he might recognize it, and another part of Adrien that knew for a fact he had never heard that song before. 

“You can use other songs to call them, you know,” groaned March. 

“My dear March Hare,” sighed the Mad Hatter, “this is my favorite song. Why do you hate my favorite song?”

“Why do you two have to do this every time?” asked Mullo. 

There was the sound of a bird screeching in the sky above. At first, Adrien wondered why the Mad Hatter had a ventriloquist record player and why her favorite song had random bird calls in it. 

Then a giant eagle landed in the clearing. Mullo drifted over to the eagle and nuzzled its face. 

“Hi Liiri! I missed you!” 

The eagle snapped its beak a few times. A person slid off the back of the eagle and landed on the ground in a picture perfect superhero pose. They had long black hair, and their arms were cloaked with leather fringe. 

“You rang?” they asked. 

“Eagle! We need to take Blondie round to Turtle’s for a beach episode. Give us a ride?” 

Eagle smirked. 

“Sure thing.” 

Suddenly, Adrien felt like everyone was looking at him. They wanted him to get on the giant eagle? He actually had to ride an eagle? That couldn’t be what they were asking, right? That was too crazy, even for the Mad Hatter, right? Just when Adrien had convinced himself that the arrival of the giant eagle was some kind of cosmic joke, the Mad Hatter put her hand on Adrien’s back and started pushing. 

“Where are we going?”

“Up up and away, Adrien! Eagle and Liiri are the tightest two-bird pilot squad for miles. We couldn’t be safer in their talons.” 

Adrien was still nervous. But there was something about the Mad Hatter. She was objectively crazy (it was part of her name, after all), but she had a firm grip on the reins and she was as in control as a person like her could be. 

There was something about the Mad Hatter. If she was leading, he’d follow. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One bird, two bird, green bird, wait no, that's a turtle. And there's another turtle. Is there a third turtle? But there is a fox. And a couple rabbits. And whatever the Mad Hatter is.

Adrien buried his face in Liiri’s feathers. If he didn’t think about it too hard, he could pretend that he wasn’t riding on the back of a giant eagle. He wasn’t even afraid of heights, it was just that every time he thought he had the situation all figured out, something else happened to knock him down. 

“Adrien, pull your head out of the ground, you blond ostrich! You’re missing out on all the fun!” 

Recognizing the Mad Hatter’s voice, Adrien slowly lifted his head. True to form, the Mad Hatter was standing atop Liiri, ignorant of the fact that they were hundreds of feet off the ground. Either that, or she just didn’t care. 

“So uh...this is fun for you?” asked Adrien. 

“Why wouldn’t it be? The wind in my hair, the shining sun. I’ve got my good friends by my side and the great open skies before me. There’s nothing else I could possibly want up here.” 

She turned around. Her pigtails whipped in the wind like literal propellers. The sight would’ve been humorous if it wasn’t so extraordinary. The Mad Hatter extended a hand to Adrien. 

“I’ll fall.” 

“I’ll catch you.”

It was hard to argue with that. The Mad Hatter pulled Adrien to his feet. He stumbled closer to her and tried to look at the sky. It was a nice view, but he just wasn’t feeling it. Maybe he just didn’t have the same sense of adventure that she did. 

“You’re just not feeling it,” said the Mad Hatter, “you need to relax. The whole time you’ve been here, you’ve been standing at attention like a little soldier. I don’t know who’s got your leash, chaton, but they’re not here.” 

The Mad Hatter’s characteristic fire had melted into something kind and earnest. The people there, imaginary as they were, actually cared about Adrien and how he felt. He owed it to them to at least try, right?

“You don’t owe it to anybody but yourself, kid,” said Plagg. 

Adrien nodded. He tried to shake his shoulders out and let everything else melt away. His knees were still wobbly, so he held his hands out to the side to balance himself. The Mad Hatter adjusted her arms, beaming at him, clearly glad that he was even trying. 

He wasn’t sure what happened. One minute he had caught the Mad Hatter’s eye, twinkling with joy and wonder, the next second he was falling off of Liiri’s back and plummeting at breakneck speeds. He must’ve slipped, he must’ve lost his focus, but there were no two ways about it. 

Adrien Agreste was falling. 

Ironically, that was when he got it. He looked up, and the sight before him was like a painting. The forest meeting the sea fading into the sky was everything Adrien had missed his whole life. There was no reason why he didn’t deserve it as much as anyone else. The way his father behaved, what happened to his mother, it wasn’t Adrien’s fault. It was just bad luck. 

That was what was so incredible about the Mad Hatter. She wasn’t worried about anything. She spent time in her workshop and with March and Mullo, and she created things. Everything she created was filled with more joy and wonder than the last. Adrien wasn’t afraid of the ground rapidly approaching. Not when she promised she’d catch him. 

The Mad Hatter let out the most magnificent of Tarzanian screams. Adrien managed to pivot in free fall to look at her. She wasn’t afraid. She dove off of Liiri’s back, seemingly unprotected from gravity. She cradled Adrien in her arms and the two of them inexplicably bounced back up onto Liiri. The girl untied a thin rope from around her waist and began wrapping it around- 

“Is that a yo-yo?” asked Adrien. 

“That’s what you’re gonna ask right now?” asked Plagg. 

“Handy in all sorts of situations,” laughed the Mad Hatter. 

“You were right,” continued Adrien, “it’s perfect here. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than when I was plummeting off a giant eagle towards certain death.” 

“Nothing is perfect, Adrien. That’s what makes life interesting. I can never be perfect. I’m too crazy.” 

The Mad Hatter crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Adrien laughed. He poked her nose, and her eyes rolled around once in opposite directions before they refocused. 

“You are crazy,” he said, “totally bonkers. But I’m starting to think all the best people are.” 

“We’re coming up on the beach,” cried Eagle, “it’s time to land. Everyone, hold on to your butts.” 

Liiri dove. The Mad Hatter laughed. And miraculously, Adrien wasn’t afraid. 

♡♢♤♧

Adrien was expecting some sort of gimmick to the beach. Like a giant dodo or something. But there was no gimmick. No trick. Just a white sand beach, clear blue ocean, and-

“Mads! March! Long time no see, dudes!” 

The voice came out of nowhere. All of a sudden, a figure clad in green launched into action. Adrien steeled himself for the next impossible thing that was gonna be hurled full speed at his face, only to come face to face with a guy in a green hoodie and a backpack made to look like the back of a cartoon turtle. 

“You must be Turtle,” said Adrien. 

“Nah, bro. I’m Carapace. Rena’s bringing Wayzz, who’s the true turtle on this beach.” 

“I just said Turtle because I get the three of them mixed up in my head,” explained the Mad Hatter. 

“There’s only two turtles, dudette,” said Carapace. 

“Really? I could’ve sworn there were three. It’s probably not important.”

Adrien was 100% sure that there were more than three turtles in existence, but he was equally certain that mentioning that fact would not help the situation in any way. 

“This is Adrien,” explained March, “he’s sad because he has no friends and his life is generally fraught and depressing.”

The March Hare spoke bluntly. Adrien could appreciate that. 

“Then you’ve come to the right place!”

Carapace sat down in the sand with his legs crossed. 

“Let’s just chill until Rena and Wayzz get here. Adrien. What’s eating you, dude?” 

Adrien sat down across from Carapace. 

“It’s...my mom. She’s in a coma. Medically speaking, there’s no reason why she should still be alive. My dad has her hooked up to all these machines, I don’t know where or how he got them. She’s just barely holding on, she has to be so tired. But he just...he won’t let her go. And he doesn’t listen to me. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw him for longer than thirty seconds, even before Mom’s accident. He’s so paranoid, he doesn’t let me leave the house. I don’t have anyone. Well, I have one friend. But we only ever video chat, and she’s not the most compassionate person on the planet.” 

The Mad Hatter took Adrien’s hand. He wasn’t sure what made her do it, but he was glad that he had a friend who wanted to be closer to him. 

“The time I’ve spent here, wherever here is, has been more fulfilling than anything I ever experienced. And I know I have to leave eventually, because...something this amazing can’t last forever.” 

Adrien interlaced his fingers with the Mad Hatter’s and shed a single tear. He smiled as it fell, thinking that the samurai was right. He really needed to cry more. 

“Ryuko was right about you,” said the Mad Hatter, “you really do need to cry more.” 

She wiped away the tear with the pad of her thumb. Maybe the Mad Hatter was a mind reader, along with being an insane milliner and the kindest and most genuine person Adrien had ever met. 

Adrien turned towards Carapace just in time to see the massive tidal wave crashing to shore. He tried to stand up to run, but the Mad Hatter was holding his hand and pulled him back down. 

“It’s just for show,” she explained, “Wayzz would never drown anyone. Well, no one that deserved it.” 

The wave watched over Adrien. It wet his hair and clothes, but didn’t get caught in his eyes or his ears, or his lungs. When the crystal clear water washed away, so did Adrien’s awe. Sitting behind Carapace was a gigantic tortoise, at least as big as a bus. The turtle’s size was almost enough to distract Adrien from the girl in the kitsune costume on the turtle’s back. 

Almost. 

“Rena!” cried the Mad Hatter. 

The fox girl Rena did a backflip off of the turtle’s back as the Mad Hatter let go of Adrien’s hand and ran towards the girl. Rena let the Mad Hatter envelop her in a hug, soggy kerchief and all. 

“Girl, you are soaked,” teased Rena. 

The Mad Hatter maneuvered quickly and put Rena in a headlock. 

“Who’s fault is that?” laughed the Mad Hatter. 

That was what Adrien wanted. A friendship like theirs. Someone who wasn’t afraid to hug him even if he was soaking wet. Someone who he wasn’t afraid to have touch him. Someone who was always glad to see him, and someone he’d always be glad to see. 

“Everyone,” bellowed Wayzz, “retreat. I would like a moment alone with this young man.” 

Everyone obeyed the turtle. Even the Mad Hatter, who looked like she had never obeyed a command in her life. She paused next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. 

“You’ll be fine. Wayzz is a softie.” 

“If I’m not back in an hour, call the police,” joked Adrien. 

“There aren’t any police in Wonderland. But I’ll rescue you.” 

The Mad Hatter skipped off into the woods with the others. Adrien took a few paces towards the giant turtle before raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Wonderland, huh?” 

“Indeed. Climb upon my back, child. We have much to discuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me four chapters to mention wonderland. in my defense, I forgot.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien chats with Wayzz. The next destination is decided on. Also there's a whale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! writing his hard. have another chapter.

Wayzz gently pushed himself through the water. Adrien hugged his knees tight to his chest. Unlike Liiri’s back, he had nothing to hold onto with Wayzz’s shell.

“Where are we going?” asked Adrien. 

“A little island to chat. I don’t trust the Mad Hatter not to eavesdrop.” 

“Why would she want to listen to us talk?” 

“The Mad Hatter cares about you very much, Adrien. And that girl will move mountains for her family.” 

Adrien blushed and scratched the back of his neck. 

“I just met the Mad Hatter,” he chuckled nervously. 

“Time is an illusion, little one. You sit atop the back of a giant tortoise in order to traverse the sea, is it so hard to believe that another person could learn to care for you in a short amount of time?” 

_ Yes, _ thought Adrien. 

“I guess not,” he said, “but the Mad Hatter has so many cool friends, like Eagle and Ryuko and the March Hare. I’m just me. I don’t even know how I got here.” 

“Someone noticed you were in pain, Adrien. That’s how you got here.” 

Adrien stepped onto the green island that Wayzz landed on. 

“Nobody notices me. Not the real me, anyway.” 

“Have you been your truest self here, in Wonderland?” asked Wayzz. 

Twiddling his thumbs, Adrien sat down on the grass. 

“I guess. When the others and I flew here on Liiri, I was so scared. But the Mad Hatter taught me to enjoy it. Nobody’s ever cared about whether or not I was enjoying myself.” 

“Yet you have a hard time believing in the Mad Hatter’s regard for you.”

“The Mad Hatter is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. She’s strong and courageous and bright and she makes it look so easy. I could never be like that.”

“No one’s asking you to be like the Mad Hatter. Just be you, Adrien. It’s not like you could be anyone else.”

“I’m sure I could if I tried.” 

“But would you be happy?” 

“I guess not. Is that what your big lesson is? Be myself? Because it’s easy to be myself here where there aren’t any real stakes. Once I wake up, I’m gonna have to go back to the person Father wants me to be. And I don’t like Perfect Poster Boy Adrien, he’s a dick.” 

Wayzz chuckled. 

“My big lesson is be yourself, in a way. You needed someone to tell you that you’re okay just the way you are, but maybe I’m not that person.” 

“Ryuko’s lesson was letting myself feel. The Mad Hatter’s trying to teach me how to let go, and now you’re telling me to just let myself live, but I don’t know how.” 

A wave crashed in the distance. Adrien lied down. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Someone was trying to teach him a lesson, but it wasn’t sticking for some reason. 

“Adrien, do you have any friends outside of Wonderland?”

“I mean, I guess. I grew up with this girl, her name’s Chloe. She’s...kind of super mean. But she’s also loyal and honest. She always says I’m the only one who gets her, but her parents don’t really pay attention to her unless she’s making a mess. I’ve always been too much of a coward to try that.” 

“Fear doesn’t equal cowardice. Ryuko, Carapace, Rena, Eagle, the Mad Hatter, they all have things that scare them.” 

There was a great yawp. That was the only possible way to describe the sound. Adrien looked towards its source. He saw a whale swimming towards the island at breakneck speeds, with the Mad Hatter on its back, her yo-yo wrapped around its dorsal fin. 

_ I’m definitely not brave enough to try that, _ thought Adrien. 

The Mad Hatter leapt from the whale’s back as she reeled in her yo-yo and flipped onto the island. She landed in a perfect superhero pose, somehow managing to keep her hat on. 

“You never have been able to let well enough alone,” chided Wayzz. 

“Sorry Wayzz! But I promised my friend I’d come rescue him if you two were gone for 

more than an hour.” 

“The others didn’t want to come?” asked Adrien. 

“I am shocked and appalled that you think I am incapable of rescuing you on my own. Besides, they described my actions as ‘reckless’ and ‘stupid’ and ‘completely unnecessary.’ Also they’re not as good with whales as I am.” 

“Luckily for you, I figured out where this young man needs to go next. Both of you, on my back.” 

The Mad Hatter clambered onto the turtle’s back and offered her hand to Adrien. He graciously accepted her help. Something made him keep hold of her hand, although he had no clue what it was. He was relieved when she didn’t let go either. 

“Wayzz is the best, he’s like a grumpy dad,” she laughed. 

“I guess that’s what having a dad is supposed to feel like.”

Adrien’s joke fell flat. The Mad Hatter squeezed his hand. 

“Your dad sounds like he sucks. But you seem like you turned out alright without him.” 

“I have no idea how.” 

“Some people suck. Some people treat you like garbage and make you wish you were dead. But by the same token, some people are just good without having to try. I think that no matter where or how you grow up, you’d end up as someone genuine and kind. Maybe that’s one of the constants in the multiverse, the kind of people we turn out to be. You’re always nice. Ryuko and Rena are always cool. Carapace is always protective. March is always honest. Eagle is always brave. Mullo is always a troublemaker. Liiri is always an adventurer. Fluff is always late. Plagg is always a tsundere, and Wayzz is always a teacher.”

“What about you?” 

“Me? I’m always a thousand percent completely totally absolutely cuckoo bananas. Also I always have this yo-yo, this thing is choice.” 

Adrien burst out laughing. Gone for barely an hour, and he’d already missed the Mad Hatter. She was a thousand percent completely totally absolutely cuckoo bananas, that was what Adrien liked about her. She didn’t break herself into little easily digestible chunks the way Adrien did. 

“For what it’s worth, I bet you’re always generous. You’ve done so much for me already, and we haven’t known each other that long.” 

The Mad Hatter knocked her foot against Adrien’s. 

“It’s worth a lot. Thanks.” 

♡♢♤♧

The others were waiting on the beach looking unamused. The Mad Hatter slid off of Wayzz’s back without remorse. Adrien tried to ape her confidence as he got off the turtle’s back, but tripped on a rock and fell over. 

“I know where we need to go next,” said Wayzz. 

“Where?” asked the Mad Hatter, helping Adrien to his feet.

“I’m sorry to say this, but where Adrien needs to go, it will be hard for all of you to follow.”

Everyone except for Adrien gasped. 

“Yes. I know you were hoping to avoid this, Mad Hatter. But you and Adrien must seek an audience with the Queen.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAD TO OKAY


End file.
